Superstitions
by SweetFedora
Summary: For a man who is already deep in a darkness thrown upon him, how can he help one who has fallen into a similar darkness? Logan based, O.C. involved. Not really good at titles or summaries.
1. Prolouge

Author notes: Alright! So this is my first fanfiction tale, pretty much, ever. Um, I really hope you like. This will be very Logan-based, so a few scenes and maybe chapters may bother a few people.

Author notes II:It is very much an AU that is pretty much using a bunch of media but based in the movie universe. I like the way the movies have portrayed the X-men characters, but the whole Jean love-affair affair bothers me. It does in most media the X-men have graced. Not sure why but it does.(don't hate me) Also there well be a few X-men: Evolution references and some of the X-men will be shown as from that (like teenagers) while others will be from the movies. And yet still some others may be based on the various comics. It may appear to be spazztic but it is chaotically organized. Just so everyone knows going into this

I own no character that is easily recognized. Meaning all X-men and others belong to Marvel, which is now Disney. The only real claim I can make here is the 'creature' you see in a minute. I wish I owned the X-men, but sadly, I only write bad fanfictions.

Prologue

It was quiet. But not just quiet. It was that bone-chilling silence a forest in the pre-dawn ghost light toward the middle of winter had. That dead, cold silence. A silence now broken by the yielding sound of new fallen powder being crunched under soft padded feet. A shadow skirted passed a corps of trees.

The sound of rash breathing and strangled lungs accompanies the crunching snow. The creature rushes forward at a frantic pace, glancing over its shoulder like it was scared of being followed. It came to an abrupt stop in front of a tight cluster of evergreens. The creature snapped its head left and right, scanning for a way out or a place to hide. Its attention jerked at yet another sound in the distance. The creature scurried over and up one of the near by trees into a small nook toward the top of the main trunk. The odd creature curls in on itself, trying to hide from any view on from the ground. Again that dead cold silence.

The creature sits quietly, shivering only slightly from the cold.

Its odd, pointed ears perked up as the sound of heavy boots crunching snow come closer. More than one pair of heavy boots. The creature's nose twitched as a small party of men appeared before the cluster of trees, bright flash-lights waving about. The creature curled in on itself as much as it possible could when a beam passed just below its hiding place.

"The damn thing came this way!" one of the men said loud in a rush of words. All of the men, about five or so, appeared dressed for the cold hunting season. They had heavy padded jackets and thick-looking pants. Most were equipped with hunting rifles; a few with shotguns.

"It had to 've stopped here. I mean there's nowhere it can go," another man said while the group started looking around for signs of new tracks. Fortunately for the creature up in the tree, the hunters' own tracks had covered up the earlier ones.

The creature, still holed up in its safe hiding place, stirred ever so slightly. With all of the lights and eyes focused toward the ground, the odd little creature could make a grab at a branch form another tree near by and make its get-away. Clean. Simple. No gets hurt.

Especially it.

About a third of the way through its slow raise one of the hunters glanced up toward the trees. Everything seemed to slow down. The creature was in a distinct crouch when the hunter looked up. The man's eyes widened in slight horror, yelling at the others as he brought the butt of his rifle up to his shoulder. The creature turned toward the nearest tree to try and make a jump for it just as the man squeezed a shot off. The loud bang rang out through the forest, setting a few birds to the sky. The creature was gone.

"Did ya get it, Tom?" one asked, coming up behind him.

"I don't know. I couldn' see before it jumped," the man called Tom said, moving his head back and forth trying to see around the trees. "If I did hit it, thing won't last out in this cold," he stated matter-of-factly.

The small party of men turned around, heading back the way they had come. A few had big grins plastered on their faces. They wouldn't have to worry about that damn creature, what ever it was, sneaking around their farms and livestock. They disappeared into the forest, patting Tom on the back and giving hearty congratulations all around.

End Thoughts: Alright so that is the first tidbit of the story. I hoped you like it. All reviews are welcome but flames are not really appreciated. If I get a few reviews,any reviews, I well continue with it, if you all out there like it. If you see any mistakes or if I mess up later on, please tell me. It helps me greatly. And I can not thank all of you enough for just reading this. It makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Drover out.


	2. Chapter 1: Roni

Sorry for being a little late. Thanks to the guys who reviewed and to the others who add it on story alerts. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. =D So here you guys go.

Superstitions Chapter One: Roni

In the darkness- slowly diminishing by dawn's light- bright, feline amber eyes followed the hunters and their revealing lights. This was not a new event to the creature behind the eyes, this hunting party. Several had come after Roni when her mutations had manifested.

Radona "Roni" Leavitt was a mutant. A few months ago, Roni had started to grow a soft, dark under coat of fur, much the color of her bluish- black hair. Her ears had started to grow and become pointed. Her spine seemed to be growing a few extra vertebrae, as well, down towards the tail bone. But most of the people in her small town, her parents included, tolerated the changes, though it was apparent that most forced themselves to do so.

About a month after the manifestation of Roni's X-gene, Roni's body under went a drastic change. Roni was out playing with her friends' like most twelve-year-olds do in the fall afternoons. She was chasing after a ball when she suddenly doubled over and let out a horrid scream. Both her parents rushed out of their home toward their screaming child, asking the obvious questions of "Are you okay?" and "where does it hurt?" to the sobbing girl.

But Roni was not listening. Her mutation had finally fully manifested and it had decided that exact moment would do just fine. Her soft undercoat of fur took on a darker, rougher top coat. Her ears became almost bigger and more feline. Roni's beautiful jade eyes had changed to a soft golden amber, pupils narrowing into slits. A long, winding tail had sprouted from her lower back. Her feet and legs had morphed into the hind legs of a cat; elongated, bent, and standing on the balls of her feet. Her hands grew padded; her nails turning into claws. In a matter of minutes, Roni had taken on the form of a humanoid cat creature.

Roni's parents and friends all just starred in disbelief. They had all thought that the fur was her mutation. Nothing this extreme had ever crossed their collective minds. Some would have called the transformation demonic while others would have thought her a beauty to behold. At that moment, Roni's parents were just trying to get a response.

Her mutation, as graceful and seamless as it had appeared, had been beyond painful for little Roni. The physical change had been so excruciating, that Roni had nearly lost her sane mind. And while she had almost lost her sanity, a new being had set up residence in her mind; a very real, very feral conscious. A being that embraced all she had been taught was wrong and uncivilized but brought forth wondrous new feelings and sensations. Like she was seeing the world for the first time or really smelling the world. The bus three blocks away seemed to be passing right by her and the birds several feet away practically in her head. Roni turned to face her mother, tears starting to stream down her softly furred checks.

"Mommy? What's happening?" she asked, clueless as to what really was going on. The pain had blocked out most everything.

But all her mother could do was stare with eyes rounded with horror. She looked up to her husband, who had shot up and was backing away. His hands were out in front of him, trying to 'protect' himself should Roni chose to 'attack' them.

"You are no child of mine!" he exclaimed, beckoning his wife and child's mother toward him, away from the creature that now sat before them. Roni could only gaze with terror as her family rejected her. When her 'parents' had walked into what had once been her home and her 'friends' had all run to their respective houses had reality finally set in.

She was alone and on one would help her.

A few very short hours later the town had driven Radona out, exiling a small child with an odd gene to fend for herself. She walked to the next town, some 30-odd miles away, starving and cold. But this town was no different with its reaction. 'Monster!' and 'Devil!' they would shout while running little Roni out, sometimes with loaded guns. She had been shot a few times, just grazes and nicks. The cuts had healed up really fast, but Roni never noticed. Eventually little Roni learned to stick to the forests. No one rejected her there. But 12-year-old Roni did not know how to survive out in the wilds of the Northern New York forests.

But the new being in her mind did. Roni had experimented with it a little, letting a bit out to see what it could do. But it frightened her so she always shut it away before it could get out of control. Now it was in control. Now the feral was the only being inhabiting Roni's body. Roni certainly wasn't there.

But none of that mattered to the wild part. Only the here and now did. Only the desire to survive drove that now dominate part. And right now that part was trying to get the bullet that had found the lower part of her left shoulder out. The hunter had gotten on a lucky shot and the bullet was buried in her soft flesh beyond her reach.

The feral part knew that it had to come out. So far the only injuries it had sustained were just cuts and scrapes, things like running into a bush or falling out of a tree. The few bullet wounds were only grazes. The creatures had never really been hit by a bullet, let alone have one buried in its shoulder.

The creature clawed at the wound in a futile attempt to reach the bullet. It hissed and whimpered as the blood trickled down its arm matting the dingy, knotted fur. It clutched the injured shoulder, arm hanging limp and useless at its side, and trudged forward in the high snow. The light that filtered through the trees lit up the snow like water droplets, illuminating the soft pink and deep red patches on the pristine ground. The creature was leaving a distinct trail for anything to find, be it hare of hunter.

But the creature did not care. It just wanted to be some where dry and somewhat warm to curl up in and heal from the wound. But no such luck for it today. The creature stood erect and turned its attention off toward the right as a new scent assaulted its sensitive nose.

It was a woody scent but mixed with the smell of man. Not like the hunters from before; this smell belonged to the forest. The natural scent of pines and earth overpowered the pure scent of man. Much like its own scent but not as potent or powerful.

The feral creature let out a low rumbling growl to warn off this intruder to her territory while it sifted through the new information provided by the smell. The scent was getting increasingly stronger, getting closer to the feral creature. It backed up and crouched down between some tree roots, trying to hide itself from the threat at hand. Its growling reduced to a very low rumble that the human ear would not hear when the new smell continued forward.

Had it not been for the slowly growing pink in the pristine white snow the feral child might have been able to hide herself from another predator let alone a normal human.

But it was no normal human who had stumbled upon Roni.


	3. Chapter 2: Rescue

Okay, I am so sorry for being late with this. My internet has gone done and been down. And the moment I have it back up, I get stuck with a hurricane. I will try to be quicker with these chapters. And I would like to thank all the people who take the time to read this. Makes me very happy. And I like to thank the two people who help me with this by correcting all of my horrid mistakes *cough*jademonkey*cough* and my friend who is now my fun plot bunny who will not be named right now. So with out bothering you with my rambling, here is chapter two of Superstitions.

* * *

Superstitions Chapter 2

A low grumble filled the quiet air of the forest. As the grumble came closer to the tree that hid little Roni, words started to become distinguishable. Not that Roni understood them.

"This ain't what I was plannin' on goin' this mornin', Hank."

Heavy boots crunching snow. Roni's ears perked up toward the sound.

"You know I ain't the one Chuck sends out on these kid findin' missions."

Roni stretched her hearing as far as she could, completely focused on this new sound. She resisted the urge to move her head to the side for a better look as her instincts told her, demanded her, to hold still. Her small frame had begun to shiver from cold and blood loss but Roni did not notice, so intent on this new voice that permeated the still air.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it, Hank. The kid's here somewhere. The sooner we find 'er, the sooner we leave."

As the last words floated down to Roni's waiting ears in her small hiding place, a figure stepped out from some brush.

It was a man, albeit a little short. He looked to be wearing a leather body suit; black, glossy, and thick looking. It seemed awkward to Roni but it was better than the ragged tee-shirt and shredded pants that was left on Roni's petite form. But there was one thing about this man that held the child's attention. That was this mysterious man's hair.

The thick black mess was wild and seemed to be untamable. Towards the back of his head, it crested up on both sides to taper off in to two peaks. To her, they looked like the ears of some animal.

As odd as it was, the feral in Roni was fascinated by this man's 'wild' hair, so engrossed with it that she really did not notice the soft breeze blow past her towards the man. So engrossed that she didn't notice the man turn and face her hiding spot. So engrossed that she let out the breath that she held, the cold immediately turning the warm moisture in to a white cloud in front of her face.

* * *

"This ain't what I was plannin' on doin' this morin', Hank."

Sure enough, Logan had not been planning on searching for a girl lost out in up-state New York. Logan had awakened to a rare good mood that morning. He had gotten a full night's sleep; no nightmares, no children having nightmare's, no one attacking the mansion. Sweet glorious nothing. He had briefly planned a run on the mansion's grounds, out by the forest in the back of the property, and maybe a quiet breakfast before the rest of the inhabitants began to wake. It just happened to be a Saturday, the only ones who would usually be up so early on such a day would be Ororo , up in her loft probably, and Henry McCoy down in the lab. Logan would bet money that Hank never left the labs unless for some bodily need or mission.

But no, the moment his hand was reaching the door knob to go outside, a lit

Le voice spoke in his head.

:_Wolverine. Storm. Beast. I need the three of you to locate a child near the border. I believe the retrieval of this child is of the utmost importance for her safety. I would prefer it if you left immediately. I shall give you the coordinates once on the Blackbird.: _

"Chuck, you have great timing,' was the mumbled reply.

And so that is what has landed three X-men in the cold wintry forests of northern New York. A lost child.

A static-y voice came through the little communications device on Logan's ear.

"Come now, Logan. A child in distress is one in need," came the all-too-intelligent voice of Henry McCoy.

"You know I ain't the one Chuck sends out on these kid findin' missions." Logan was definitely not the one that was sent on those kinds on missions.

"Oh dear, Henry. We have upset the Wolverine," came a jest in the form of an exotic female voice. The comment prompted a few giggles and chuckles to emanate from the ear piece.

"Ororo, my dear, you have a marvelous sense of humor," Henry said, a small laugh slowly ending on the other side of the device. "And on that cheery note, have you spotted anything from up above?"

"I am afraid not, Henry. I have seen nothing but snow and trees," was Ororo's solemn reply. Once the Blackbird had landed in a clearing, near the area the Professor had sensed the child; the three occupants had agreed to split up in their search. Storm would take to the skies while Wolverine and Beast would go off in opposite directions on foot.

"I feared as much. I have also had foul luck in my proverbial neck of the woods. And from Wolverine's disgruntled tone, he has had no luck as well."

Logan shook his head with a sigh. Hank was worried about this child but it amazed him that McCoy could still maintain a physician-seque tone.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it, Hank. The kid's here somewhere," he grunted into the small earpiece. "The sooner we find 'er, the sooner we leave," he said a little quieter as he stepped through some brush on to a small game trail. He looked around the small area, not really sure of which way he should go. A soft breeze whiffed passed his nose, enticing it with a new scent; an earthy scent of dirt, fur and wood tinged with the sharp iron and coppery smell of blood. Fresh blood.

Logan froze a moment, but only a moment, before he took another sniff at the air. The natural scent was strong, telling him that whatever this creature was it was close. The metallic smell of blood hung in the air. _So this thing is close and wounded. Just great._ A softer breeze blew by from behind Logan, still carrying the odd scent. He turned to face the source of the breeze and came to face a cluster of trees hiding a larger oak, branches bare in the chilly season. Dark shadows clung around the trees' roots. The shadows were dark but not dark enough to hide two small golden orbs and a small puff of white.

"Guys," Logan pressed into the communications device. "I think I got something' here. Have you two come across any animals? No birds. The four legged creatures." Logan stared hard at the figure, darker than the shadows around it, trying to distinguish some features while waiting for his answers.

"I have just come across two birds. I have seen no other animals," Storm said, sounding a bit confused.

"I have not crossed paths with any form of creature," Beast stated. "Wolverine, what did you find?"

"I just found the kid," was all he said as he plunged his hands in to the darkness in an attempt to catch his query.

The creature went to turn and make a mad dash from Logan's hands but turned just in time to give him access to the scruff of fur on its neck. Logan found the patch of fur…_fur?_.... and grabbed on tight, yanking the creature out of its hiding spot in the roots of the tree.

The thing was the size of a child but looked like a mad mix of the elf, Beast, and a giant black cat. It hissed loudly, amber eyes flashing dangerously, and tried to get itself around so it could claw at the person holding it up in the air.

"Yep, it's the kid, alright," he grunted in to the earpiece.

The child continued to struggle, wanting to be free of this man who had caught her. She tried to get her face around to bite Logan's hand but just could not reach. She flung her right arm left and right, trying to claw anything she could get a hold of. Her left arm hung limp and useless at her side, swaying with each turn of her small body.

Holding the struggling flaying child out in front of him, Logan turned on his heels and started back toward the Blackbird. With all her fighting, the limp arm bothered Logan more than a little. He gave her a glance over to check for any obvious injuries.

The girl's fur had grown shaggy and was badly matted in more places than one. Her hair, which was softer in look and glossier than the rest of her fur, was wildly grown out and tangled with a few small sticks and plenty of dried leaves. The only things she had for clothes were the shredded remains of what looked like a green tee-shirt and a pair of thick baggy pants. But his eyes were drawn to the matted, wet fur on the left arm. It shined in the sun, so it was still wet and the life liquid was flowing from what looked to be a gunshot wound in the child's shoulder.

This made Logan growl deep in his chest. _Even if she looks like a huge cat, this girl is still a child! What person in their right mind would shoot a child?_ Logan reached up to put two fingers on the comm-link.

"Hank, I'm headin' back to the jet. It looks like our girl here has been out on her own for a while. She's cold, barely has any clothes, and s'got a bullet in her left shoulder. And to make everythin' better, she's a feral. 'Bout ready to bite my hand off. We're gonna need a blanket and some first aid when I get back. And maybe a tranquilizer if she don't pass out from blood loss," Logan said in to the little device while giving the girl another at look over just in case.

"Understood, Wolverine. We will meet you at the Blackbird shortly," came Hank''s response followed by static. The child began again in earnest to attack his hand.

"This is gonna be a long walk," he grumbled.

* * *

Logan moved a little quicker when he caught sight of the clearing up ahead. He now held the little girl curled up in his arms. About half way in to the walk back, the little girl gave up struggling and just hung there, limp and trembling. So Logan had gathered her up and quickened his pace.

Logan made the clearing in time to spot Hank stick his blue furry head out of the cabin door. Upon seeing his approach, Henry disappeared back in to the sleek black jet. Logan ran the last few feet to and up the jet's ramp. Once he was completely in the cabin of the X-jet, Beast locked the ramp and Storm started up the jet's engines. Logan headed towards to back of rather spacious cabin to the makeshift bed that Beast had probably prepared on the row of seats. He gently laid the girl down on her right side, the bullet hole facing toward him.

"Oh dear. That does not look well," said Beast in a soft voice as he approached the two, eyes drawn to the angry red hole in the child's shoulder. A moth to the flame, the Beast slipped into Dr. McCoy and proceeded to inspect the girl's injuries. "The bullet is still in there," he mumbled to himself and reached over to grab some gauze and medical tape.

Logan turned and moved for the pilot's chair, where Ororo sat in her attempt to get them back to the school quickly, pristine white hair the only thing visible from behind the pilot's seat. He grabbed one for a chair as the jet lurched a bit.

"Storm, how much longer until we're back at the school?" he asked once he was closer to her.

"About fifteen minutes, give or take," she stated. Storm moved to push a button, on the control panel as Logan lowered himself into the seat next to her's. Storm turned her brilliant blue eyes, liquid with concern, on him at that moment.

"How is she?" Her exotic voice was filled with worry. Her dark tan face was lined in her concern for the child. She held Logan's gaze, prompting him to answer her question.

"She's cut up bad. Got a nice little bullet in 'er shoulder. Hank wants to get it out as soon as we can get 'er to the med lab. The kid just looks bad, Storm," he said as he turned his head to look back at Henry and the child he had practically snatched out of a bush. Beast must have finished dressing the wounds because now she was all wrapped up in one of the extra blankets, unmoving.

"Who would do that to a kid, Storm? Even if she is a mutant, and a noticeable one at that, she is still a child." Logan turned his head to stare out of the front window of the plane. Yes, cruel things could be done to people; he knew that. But a child? He'd seen it many times before and every time it bothered him to his core. But he never really showed it to the others.

"It is far too common, I am afraid. Parents frequently abandon their children when they start to show signs of the mutant gene. I just pray that this poor child has suffered enough." She returned her gaze back to the skies before them as they neared their home.

_Me too, darlin'. Me, too. _

TBC…………………

Alright. So that's the end of this chapter. Hope you all liked it. And now I would like to tell all of you who made it all the way down here and are still read about two, that's right 2, new stories I am working on. One will definitely be going up soon, the other one I am not so sure about. The one definitely going up is a prequel to the life of the Drover from the movie _Australia_. I think its gonna be fun. The other one is another X-men fic where Logan has completely gone feral and the whole story is told from Jubilee's perspective. So review and if you feel the want to send me so input about the other 2 tales, there is gonna be a poll on my profile. Thank you reading and hopefully review.

LD out.


	4. Chapter 3: Rouse

Logan paced the hall by the med lab, nervously flecking his bright blue eyes towards the large round metal doors McCoy had disappeared through a few minutes before with the small they had picked up in a northern New York forest. McCoy had taken the child directly to the medical lab, Logan close on his heels, leaving Storm to settle the jet and inform the Professor of what had happened. Logan was going for another pas when the doors slid open with a hiss, revealing Henry in his white medical jacket.

Logan turned on the spot heading straight to him and the room behind him. "How is she?" he questioned, staring Hank right in his eyes.

Henry smiled at the man before him. As much as Logan put up the 'tough-man' act, he did care for people. And now this little girl in the school's medical bay had his undivided attention.

"She is fine, Logan," Hank said, turning to head back into the large medical room. "In fact, she will be perfectly fine in about an hour, if not a few minutes. Her mutations are quite fascinating. Come, look."

Logan moved to followed, but hesitated a moment before following the blue Beast to one of the padded bed tables. The child he had pulled from the woods was face down on the table, covered with one of the warm stock blankets. Her injured shoulder was left exposed. Hank had moved to her right side and started checking vital signs, indicating to Logan that he should move to her left.

"What do ya mean she'll be fine in an hour? She was shot, Hank. People just don't heal from that overnight." Logan stated, watching as Henry moved about, his task undeterred.

"Ah, yes. Normal people do not 'heal overnight.' But some mutants can. Just take a look at her shoulder. It started a few minutes after I pulled the bullet out." Henry turned to write something on a new patient chart and moved to find a light pen.

Logan, brow knit in confusion, looked down at the small bullet hole in the child's shoulder; the bullet hole that was slowly closing itself. He stared in disbelief. That was a healing factor, without a doubt.

Hank had found his light pen and moved back to the girl's side. "It doesn't appear to be as strong as your healing factor. It could not push the bullet out by itself. It is possible that she is too young but once it was out, all of her injures started to heal. Observe that the bullet wound is already completely healed," Henry stated while he again wrote something in the patient file.

He put the pen light down picked up the ink pen, picked up the light pen and moved towards the girl's head. He began to lift the girl's eyelid to flash the light in her eyes, looking for a reaction. With the first sweep she flinched. The second pass, she tensed up. Before henry could move for a third sweep, the girl's eyes flashed open, gold ovals wide.

Hissing, canines bared, she leaped off the table trailing the stock blanket to the floor, landing in a defensive crouch. She glared, gold eyes burning, at these two strangers with her clawed hands ready to strike should either decide to approach.

Both men stood rooted to their spots, watching this child hiss and snarl at them. Logan, without moving his head, turned his eyes to Henry. He had done the same, not sure as to what a doctor or normal, loosely put, person should do.

"Hank, slowly back out of the room and get the Professor," Logan said, turning his blue eyes back to the golden slits glaring towards them. "We'll need ta snap 'er out of it." He took a slow steady step forward, immediately drawing the child's complete feral attention.

"And what, pray tell, are you going to try?" Henry whispered, unsure of why he felt the need to be quiet. He started to inch towards the door as Logan took another step forward, enticing a very loud snarl. He returned the gesture, loosing a deep growl from his throat and curled his lips slightly.

"Show 'er who's boss," was his reply, voice raspy and gruff as he continued his growl.

Henry reached the doors and pressed the large button to open them, an audible hiss announcing their opening. He slipped out but not before the sounds had drawn the girl's attention to the new source of sound for a few short seconds.

Seconds in which Logan moved closer, growl turning to snarl and fangs fully bared. He stood tall, well over the girl's bent form. He glared down at her, demanding her submission to him, the Alpha, the Leader and, therefore, the stronger. She did not flinch away with immediate submission. No, she would put up the fight. She stayed in the crouch, only sinking an inch or two. This brought an even louder snarl from Logan and brought him one step closer. _Come on kid. I don't want to hurt ya._ He stepped closer, less than two and a half feet from each other now, hands balled into fist.

The girl started to sway a little and sunk closer to the floor, still hissing up at him. Her tail, twitching side to side, moved closer to her back. She was losing this battle for dominance because of exhaustion, the primal part knew. This man from before was demanding she submit to him, let him lead. He looked like a man but did not act like it. Smelled like a man, but at the same time did not. He was and was not. Just like her. Her vision began to blur and her movement off. Her hands were dropping to her sides and she was sinking to the floor.

Again the movement caught Logan's attention. The kid was losing but not without a fight. He slowed his growl to a low rumble and watched the girl quiet her hissing and sink fully to the floor, eyelids trying to blink the tiredness away. Logan caught her before the child hit the floor, sleep taking her to a safe place. And he sat there, back to the wall, the child in his arms. All of his attention was on the small bundle in his arms, so the three on lookers standing in the doorway went by unnoticed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Page Break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The child has certainly made an impression on Logan," Strom observed once the doors to Professor Xavier's private study were closed and she and Henry were seated.

"She has indeed." Xavier commented once he had maneuvered his wheel chair behind his great mahogany desk. "She has indeed and that very fact may help us handle the girl without serious problem or injury. Henry," far too intelligent blue eyes on the blue furred mutant, "What do we know as of this moment?"

Hank leaned forward in his chair. "Right now, all we know is the extent of her mutations. The physical change in and of itself is the primary mutation." He took off his glassed and began to clean them, a nervous habit. "The amount of damage caused by the first mutation required that the secondary, the healing factor, to manifest early. This may, or may not, have influenced the feral qualities that the child exhibits." He placed the cleaned folded glasses in his jacket pocket as he leaned back in his chair. "But we cannot be sure."

"The healing factor's not the reason for the feral-ness. It's what happened to 'er that caused it." The three occupants turned to face the new arrival to the discussion.

"Logan!" Storm gasped when she saw the burly man leaning against the door. "How is the child?"

"She's just fine. Went right back ta sleep," Logan announced like the battle for dominance had never happened. "I'm guessin' that when she wakes up again, the kid's gonna be starvin'."

"How long do you think the child will sleep, Logan?" the Professor inquired as he once again rotated his chair out from behind his desk.

"I'd give 'er 'bout thirty more minutes before she starts sniffin' out the kitchen."

"Well then, I suggest that we head back to the medical laboratory before she does just that. We shall worry over the mental or emotional damages later." Charles turned to the weather witch before exiting the room. "Ororo, would you be so kind and have something ready for the young one? Nothing large. Maybe a lunchmeat sandwich?" the Professor asked, turning to look for the gruff Canadian's approval of food.

The edges of Ororo's mouth turned up in a small smile as she left the room with a small "Of course."

"Now," stated the wheelchair bound man, "let us greet our newest arrival."

Wow, so it's been forever since I've written anything. Hopeful this will snowball into my other stories. Anyway, I hoped you like it and will offer some kind reviews or critiques? Anything would be nice. And thank you to the wonderful reviewers who really inspired me to actually keep this plot bunny going. Thanks guys!

LD out


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